


Forgetting tea

by emsylcatac



Series: Falling again [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Drama & Romance, F/M, Idiots in Love, Kissing, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Mutual Pining, mentions of chat noir - mayura - hawkmoth - fu, no reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23375659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emsylcatac/pseuds/emsylcatac
Summary: They had been dancing around each other for a while now, and while fifteen year old Adrien would have been ecstatic at the idea of dating Ladybug in secret, twenty-two year old Adrien knew better. But Ladybug wasn’t making it easy. It was like… she, too, was falling for him. And that surprisingly enough, she didn’t mind.* * *Or Adrien trying (and failing) to keep things professional between him and Ladybug when the two of them partner up for a mission. Older AU
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Falling again [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017451
Comments: 30
Kudos: 147





	Forgetting tea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zinnianana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zinnianana/gifts).



> Big thank you to Boogum for beta-reading this one!
> 
> Part of an short emoji-story game on Tumblr but I derailed with this one oop-  
> Asked by zinnianana, with 😬💗💓💞👀 for Ladybug and Adrien.
> 
> I had this kind of set-up in mind before Miracle Queen, so Fu is still the guardian there.
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy!

“What are you looking at?” Ladybug asked, watching over Adrien’s shoulder. ****

Adrien continued to read the document he had in his hands. “Nathalie’s university classmates’ list and the position they now occupy.”

Ladybug frowned. “Do you think this could help?”

He sighed, this time raising his eyes to hers. “I don’t know, but at this point I’m ready to look anywhere…”

They both gazed at each other tiredly.

Four years ago, when Hawkmoth had been arrested and his miraculous taken away from him, Mayura had managed to escape. It hadn’t been hard for Ladybug, Chat Noir and the police to put two and two together and understand who was hiding behind her mask. Yet there hadn’t been any sign from her since then and no sentimonster had been sent. Ladybug still patrolled Paris from time to time as a safety presence for the citizens and to try to spot any sign of abnormal activity.

Chat Noir… wasn’t exactly there anymore. If you asked Ladybug, she would tell you that he had to leave the city for personal reasons, but that she had hopes that he would come back were Mayura to be active again.

If you asked Adrien, he would tell you that Master Fu had asked him to give his miraculous back. His own insecurities had at first whispered to him that the guardian no longer trusted him with the black cat miraculous due to his relationship to the villains. Now, he understood that Fu had been sincere when he had told him:  
“I don’t want you to fight your family. I already feel responsible and guilty enough that you had to arrest your father. And it wouldn’t be fair of me to ask you to continue this fight. Not when you could move on and… be happy.”

Adrien had tried to argue that it wasn’t fair to not let him choose either, but he couldn’t really have the last word on the matter. He now knew that Fu’s intentions were genuine… even if a bit excessive.

Everything had been quiet since then. Until five months ago. Adrien remembered that day precisely—or rather that night. It had reopened wounds he thought healed. The police had called him around 4:15am; there had been a break-in at the prison his father was held in. Gabriel Agreste had escaped. After investigations, the obvious conclusion was that a sentimonster had been responsible for the act. Mayura was officially back, and accompanied by the man who had once been Hawkmoth no less.

A few weeks afterwards, Ladybug had come to his apartment. She had questions and hoped he’d be able to help, given his relationship with Nathalie Sancœur and Gabriel Agreste. While there wasn’t a lot he had the answers for, he was more than willing to help his former partner to arrest both terrorists once and for all.

There hadn’t been any new attacks, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Especially since it felt like something bigger was being planned. Ladybug would therefore swing now and then to Adrien’s, or he would meet her somewhere to work on the case.

So here they were, five months later, trying to trace back anything linked to Nathalie’s past that could provide a potential lead.

“Maybe…” Adrien said. “Maybe she is still in contact with one of these people, and for some reason they agreed to help her? Or maybe some just… know more about Nathalie and where she would likely go…” He trailed off, unsure of his reasoning.

“Perhaps,” Ladybug answered thoughtfully.

They both stayed silent after that, each lost in their own reflections.

“I think we should take a break,” she finally said. “We’ve been at it for hours.”

Adrien chuckled quietly while closing his eyes and letting his back sink into the sofa. Taking a break. _Right_. That was a dangerous path to go down with Ladybug.

Taking a break with her meant talking about something _else_ than work-related topics. It meant sharing pieces about their lives. Getting to know each other. Laughing together. Sometimes, it would just mean watching a movie. With her letting her head rest on his shoulder. Or getting nearer to him, just slightly enough for their knees to brush. Casually touching each other more and more with time; a shoulder, an arm, a hand… All in all, it meant getting closer. And closer. And _closer_.

After a few years apart from her, it was like he was rediscovering her a second time. She was still the same person he knew from when they were younger, but she was also so different. She had matured. Grown into the even more beautiful and amazing person that she was now.

Adrien soon found out that it wasn’t so hard to fall in love with the same person all over again. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it. But Ladybug wasn’t making it easy. It was like… she, too, was falling for him. And that surprisingly enough, she didn’t mind.

They had been like two hearts dancing around each other for a while now. While fifteen year old Adrien would have been _ecstatic_ at the idea of dating Ladybug in secret, twenty-two year old Adrien knew better. It would be… too complicated. Too unrealistic. Too dangerous. She, the protector of Paris and he, the son of the very terrorist she had fought against. And… she didn’t know that he was Chat Noir. _Had been_ Chat Noir. And somehow, he still respected Master Fu and Ladybug’s wishes for secrecy more than he probably should. So he hadn’t told her, but it didn’t make him feel less guilty about it.

“You don’t know who your partner is,” Adrien had said half-jokingly, half-seriously one day after they had almost ( _almost!_ ) kissed. (Or it had felt like they were about to kiss anyway; he would never really know since he had decided to pull away and pretend it hadn’t happened.) “He could be anyone you meet in the streets. What if _I_ was him?”

She had giggled in response. “I don’t know, what if I had a secret identity? What if I was someone you already knew?”

She’d had this careless, wide grin on her face, full of joy and mischief that was _screaming_ that she didn’t see the problem that _he_ saw. Or that she really thought he was joking but didn’t care much about the outcome anyway. His heart had pounded in his chest just to watch her looking at him so gleefully and— _in love_. Now he could recognise it for what it was.

Was this girl the same that had wanted to stick to the rules so badly when they were kids? It seemed like growing up had rendered Ladybug more lenient. Maybe she was getting tired of having to always do ‘the right thing’ all the time. He couldn’t really blame her.

Adrien sighed and stood up while stretching. “Yeah. You’re right. Let’s take a break.” He had to admit that they indeed needed one.

He walked towards the kitchen table. “Do you want some tea? Coffee?”

“Tea would be great.”

He filled up the kettle with water and let it heat up. He looked back at Ladybug. She was watching him with a soft smile. _Good job at avoiding falling more for her_ , he thought.

They stayed silent for a few seconds while gazing at each other, the only sound in the room being the gentle rumble of the kettle.

Ladybug took a step closer to him. “How have your days been since last time?”

Adrien blew a relieved sigh. This was a safe enough topic. “Fine,” he answered. “A bit hectic, if I’m being honest. I’ve had lots of courses with reports and group projects to work on.”

She smiled. “Yeah, I’ve heard that you haven’t been lucky with your teammates. That they haven’t been doing a lot.”

“No, they’re not much help,” he replied before frowning. “How do you know that, by the way? Are you spying on me?”

She chuckled, taking another step forwards. “Maybe. I have my ways. ” A secret and teasing glint entered her eyes. “And my informers.”

_Well. This is starting to get dangerous again._

The kettle got louder and louder, indicating that the water was warming up as it should.

Yet he still found himself approaching her.

“Oh?” he said, raising a brow. “And what use are these ‘informers’ of yours for? Do you not trust me enough that you feel like you need to hire spies?” He gave her a small smirk.

“I’m simply concerned for you and your well-being, is all,” she answered with a wide and way too amused grin, coming closer so they were now standing in front of each other.

He gazed down into her eyes, towering just above her because of their height difference. “Careful,” he said quietly, “or I will really start to think that you _do_ know me when you don’t wear your mask.”

“Maybe we don’t see or talk to each other much anymore, or maybe we’ve never met. Who knows?” She gave a small wiggle of her eyebrows.

_This is already too dangerous._

“Is it really important,” she murmured, “since…we’ve learned to know each other… like that?” Her gaze slowly descended from his eyes to his lips.

He gulped. “Ladybug…” he said in a warning tone, yet he found himself looking back at her lips. He didn’t know how long he would be able to resist their appeal. Especially since she was making a very good point. “We shouldn’t be doing that,” he whispered.

“No, we really shouldn’t,” she whispered back, eyes stubbornly fixed on his lips.

“We should stop.”

“Do you want to?” she murmured _oh so_ quietly, while her face was getting impossibly closer to his.

The water was boiling very loudly now.

“…You?” he breathed, not wanting to admit _his_ truth and hoping _she_ would stop even if he knew deep down that it was in vain— that it was too late. His heart was reverberating in his chest so much now.

She captured his lips with hers in response.

And he let her do it— responded to her kiss even. It was soft and gentle, just a brush of lips against lips. It was exhilarating to finally be able to taste her for the first time. Slowly, ever so slowly, he brought a hand to cup her cheek. The only sound that could be heard was the loud rumble of the kettle in the background. Until suddenly, a resonating “click” ended it all.

It was as if a dam had broken. Ladybug tangled her hands in his hair, bringing him closer, and deepened the kiss. He responded in kind, letting his other hand rest on her lower back. While they were lost in each other, tea long forgotten as they allowed themselves to be together _at last_ , he wondered: _what now?_

But he soon found that it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know what would happen afterwards. If they would look at each other in shame and regret, or with joy and sparks in their eyes. If their relationship was possible or if it would just be a one-time kiss. (It didn’t feel like it.) If there would be repercussions. All that mattered was Ladybug, her lips, her _tongue now_ , and how they were just content to bask in their kiss and in each other.

(Ladybug and Adrien never knew what the tea would have tasted like, but love had always been sweeter anyway).


End file.
